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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B. LUDWIG.

MACHINE FOR EMBOSSING WOOD OR OTHER MATERIAL. No. 380,904. Patented Apr. 10, 1888..

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

B. LUDWIG.

MACHINE EMBOSSING WOOD OR OTHER MATERI AL.

No. 380,904 Patented Apr. 10, 1888.

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uunmmmii mlmuumumullMEII r 1m (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

B. LUDWIG.

MACHINE FOR EMBOSSING' WOOD OR OTHER MATERIAL. No. 380,904. Patented Apr. 10, 1888.

m/k/ /z7 h UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

BERNHARD LUDWIG, OF VIENNA, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

MACHINE FOR EMBOSSING NOOD OR OTHER MATERIAL.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 380,904, dated April 10, 1888.

Application filed July 18, 1887. Serial No. 244,606. (No model.) Iatented in England September 10, 1886, No. 11.542,- in France September 10, 1886,,N0. 178,539, and in Austria-Hungary December 2], [886, No. 35,374 and No. 64,351.

'No. 35,374 and No.'64,35l,) of which the following is a specification.

Decorating wooden surfaces by burning ornaments or ornamental patterns upon the same by means of red-hot tools is well known. Producing ornaments on wood or pasteboard by the action of molds under pressure is also known.

According to the present invention ornamental patterns in relief are produced upon plane or curved surfaces of wood, pasteboard,

or similar material by pressing specially-constructed highly-heated rollers against the said surfaces. The construction of the said rollers is such that while the parts in tntaglio on the wood or pasteboard are more or less charred or browned or blackened by the heat those parts, on the other hand, which are in relief do not come into contact with the said heated mold or roller and remaining uncharred preserve their natural color unaltered.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 show in section part of the engraved surface A of the hot roller and the bar, board, or tablet of wood or pasteboard, B, to be decorated. Fig. 1 shows the position before pressing and Fig. 2 the position after pressing. Fig. 3 is a section of the finished product. Fig. 4 is a front elevation, Fig. 5 a side elevation, of the apparatus; and Fig. 6, a sectional view of the working-surface of the rollers.

a: designates the ground that is to say, that part of the blank which by the action of the hot roller has been depressed and charred and appears in intaglio-whereas y are those parts of the blank which do not come into contact with the hot metal, and therefore after the treatment appear in reliefand with their white or other natural color. Parts of the relief 3 may, as shown at :0, have shallow lines burned and pressed into them, and the burned brown ground may also exhibit a separate pattern, as indicated at $0 By varying the temperature of the roller and the duration of the application of the same to the blank the color of the burned or intaglio parts of the pattern may be varied at will.

From the above description it will be seen that by a single application of the roller and without further treatment any relief pattern or ornament in different shades of color may be produced on wood, pasteboard, or similar material. The material decorated by the described process may be finally varnished painted, gilt, or otherwise decorated.

The apparatus I prefer to employ for the manufacture of the above-described articles is shown in the accompanying drawings, Figs. 4, 5, and 6. With reference to these figures, A is a bed-plate. B B are standards mounted upon the same and carrying the bearings c and d for the rollers G and D. The bearings of the top roller, 0, are fixed, while those of the bottom roller are adjustable in a vertical direction by means of bolts a resting upon a transverse bar, I), whichcan be raised or low ered by ascrew, e, and hand-wheel E. In order to press the rollers firmly together,and yetto allow them to yield in case of undue stress, I employ a lever, F, actuated by a spring,f, and hand-wheel G. The rollers I make of iron or other suitable metal, and on the surface of the rollers the desired pattern is engraved. Each roller is either made in one piece, as shown at I, Fig. 6, or the pattern may be engraved on metal rings placed on the roller, as indicated at I I, Fig. 6. Two or more of these rings may be used on each roll, the rings being set apart from each other, as shown. This arrangement offers the advantage that by combining such rings the pattern may be arranged. and varied as desired, and may be obtained in any required breadth. These rings may also have a curved outline, in order to bend the boards or tablets to be decorated; or one roller may carry a ring forming a die of suitable out line'or profile, while the other carries a corresponding counter-die with the pattern ongraved on it, as shown at IV, Fig. 6. This ar rangement would be particularly adapted for making egged moldings and the like. The rollers are hollow and strengthened by ribs 6. Aperforated gas-pipe,g,passes axially through them.

In order to obtain a very high heat by plentifully admitting air, I provide suction-openings h, through which the air is drawn in. Moreover, the heads of the hollow rollers are provided with openings k, by which plenty of air can enter the rollers.

The rollers may be driven by any suitable driving-gear, such as a combination of gearwheels or the like.

In order that the rollers may not be unduly and unequally heated when the work is interrupted, but the gas-jets continue to burn, I provide the rope-pulleys Z Z at one end of the rollers, round which the rope m is slung, by means of which the rollers are kept revolving when separated, in order to avoid unequal heating. The bearings n for the shafts of the driving-gear are secured in dovetail grooves in the standards B, so that a small space is left free between the bearing and the standard, in order to avoid unequal expansion of the bearings by the heat. When the rollers are sufficiently heated, the blank to be decorated (a rod, a board, or the like) is placed on the table H, attached to the standards, and caused to be grasped by adjustable guides 1), so that it is properly drawn through the rollers.

I claim-- e In a machine for embossing wood or other material by the application of heat and pressure, the combination, with the vertically-ad justable roll D, bolts (1, bar 6, screw 6, and hand-wheel E, of the lever F and adjustable springf, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my sig nature in presence of two witnesses. I

BERNHARD LUDWIG. Witnesses:

O. 0. PAGET, E. G. F. MUELLER. 

